Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of fire fighting and more particularly to a method and apparatus that vastly increases fire fighters' efficiency and safety.
Description of the Problem
Each year building fires cause millions of dollars in damage and take the lives of countless fire fighters. Fire companies typically deploy a variety of equipment to a fire. One piece of equipment the most fire departments have is a ladder truck. Ladder trucks usually have an extendable ladder that can rotate at its base. Water can be pumped to a water cannon or nozzle at the top. These trucks typically cost near a million dollars.
However, in service, especially with residential fires, the ladders only get used around one in fifteen fires. The reason is that the truck is usually too large to maneuver near enough to the fire to use the extendable ladder. Also, many residential streets have numerous overhead obstacles such as power lines, street lights, trees and the like. While the extendable ladder is a good idea in theory, in practice it is a failure since most of the time it cannot be used.
It would be advantageous to have a piece of fire fighting equipment that could use the principle of an extendable or maneuverable arm that could get in close enough to be used in most fires.
It is common knowledge that the longer a fire is allowed to burn, the more damage it will do, the harder it will be to put out, and the more danger it will present to fire fighters and others. On the other hand, if fire fighters can put water on the seat of a fire, wherever located, very quickly after their arrival at the scene, what could have been a large, dangerous fire, can many times be quickly extinguished with minimum damage and danger to the fire fighters. It would be advantageous to have a system and method where fire fighters can immediately put water directly on the seat of a fire.
Many times it is necessary for fire fighters to cut holes in a roof to vent a fire and to get water on it. This usually requires that fire fighters must climb up onto the roof. This can be very dangerous for a number of reasons. First, the structural integrity of the roof may be compromised with a danger of a fall-through or a total collapse. Second, in the winter, in northern climates, a roof that is still structurally sound can have ice on it making it very slippery, and if the pitch is sufficient, impossible to climb on. Even in summer or in warm climates, roofs can have accumulated moss, water, branches and other dangerous material. It would be advantageous if there were a system and method that would allow fire fighters to penetrate a roof without having to actually stand on it.